Typewriting machine



Filed April 16 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet /n venror:

Patented June 11, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAX. EUGENE MELTON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOIR TO UNDERWOOD, ELLIOTT FISHER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

VTYIEIEWRITING MACHINE.

Application led April 16, 1925. Serial No. 23,448.

This invention relates to typewriting machines of the class in which superposed continuous webs of paper are drawn up from a supply at the rear of the machine and are fed around the platen past the printing line. The webs are interleaved at the printing line with an inking ribbon supplied from one spool, being guided along the printing line' of the'platen back and forth as many times as desired, depending on the number of webs of paper, and wound on another spool,

the ribbon being fed alternatively from one spool to the other. This invention is in the nature of an improvement on my previous Patent No. 1,317,209, of September 30, 1919,

in which a machine of this general character is shown.

In said patent the platen-line-spacing mechanism operates through a pinion on the platen-shaft to drive a train of ribbon-winding gearing. In practice the use of such train and pinion involes objectionablereconstruction of the platen-frame.` One of the objects of the present invention is to provide for the operation of the inking mechanism by the line-space handle, without incurring the necessity of reconstructing the machine. To this end, the special ribbon-mechanism frame, which is mounted upon the typewriter carriage, is provided with a duplicate slide, overlying the line-spacing slide of the typewriter,

and is operated by means of a duplicate arm which is provided upon the line-spacing handle; this new slide having a pawl to operate a ribbon-winding ratchet-wheel. Hence practically the only new part that it is necessary to provide on the typewriter is a new line-spacing handle, and this is easily and inexpensively provided the remainder of the mechanism being merely in the nature of attachments to be put upon the machine and reconstruction of the machine being unnecessary.

One of the features of this invention relates to means for feeding the ribbon from one l spool to the other. The two spools are mounted upon a shaft side by Side, and the shaft is rotatably mounted upon sidey frames-strad- (lling the platen-frame of the machine. The shaft is rotated by means of the line-space lever of the machine which is provided with a finger engaging the end of a sliding mem-l ber upon which there is mounted a pawl. Said pawl is operatively connected to a ratchet, and the ratchet is in turn operatively connectedto the spool shaft by means of meshing spur gears.

In order that the shaft upon which the tw ribbon-spools are mounted may alternately drive one or the other, to thus wind the ribbon selectively onto either spool, there is pro-vided mechanism which may comprise a splined groove in the shaft and a key slidably mounted therein. The'key is fast to a fingerpiece upon the shaft at the end thereof, and may be thrown into engagement with either spoolto thus'drive one of the spools along when the shaft is rotated.

Another feature of this invention relates to the novel form of carrying frame for the paper-supply roll, and to the means for releasably attaching said frame to the carriage of the machine to travel therewith. The

frame is supported on a truck, preferably provided with ball-bearing wheels, and is slidably mounted upon a track detachably fastene'd to the frame of the machine. The track may consist of an angular piece extending substantially the full width of the frame on which the track may be hung and held thereon by gravity. The frame comprisestwo side plates tied together by cross-bars which separate the plates between which a roll of paper is mounted.

In its present form the roll of paper comprises a plurality of plies wound together around a core and may be drawn together and fed into the machine to `be typed upon. The roll is mounted tothe rear of the machine so as to place the center of gravity outside of the track, and thus eliminate the necessity of a double guide for the truck. The

core of the roll may be rotatably mounted vso that, in order to remove the roll, it will be necessary-to lift the same and then to withdraw the supporting shaft. i

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a. side view in elevation showing the invention as applied to an Underwood typewriting machine, and shows the supporting frame for the web and the ribbon-feeding mechanism.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view in elevation showing a multiple-web lnterleaved by several sections of the rlbbon.

Figure 3 is a front view in elevation showingthe-invention as applied to an Underwood typewriting machine. v

Figure 4 is a plan View of the. invention showing the Webs interleaved by severalI sections of the ribbon; i

A work-Web 10, comprising a plurality of plies 11 upon which it is desired 'to type some data, isdrawn'up from asupply at the rear of the machine, leading edge first, and is inserted over a rear table 12 down around a platen 13 ccp-operating with feed-rolls 14 and up past the printing point in front of a typebar 15. The webs are passed between sections of a ribbon 16 arranged in a zigzag between the webs. Y

The platen is journaled in a platen-frame 17 and may be rotate by `finger-wheels 18 on a platen-axle 19. The line-spacing mechanism for rotating the platen to line-space the work comprises a line-space lever 20 operable to move rearwardly a slide 21 carrying a pawl 22 to drive a line-space ratchet-wheel 23 xed to the platen-axle',`to thereby effect line-space rotations of the platen. The platen-'frame is mounted on a carriage 24, being shiftable up and down thereon to upper and lower case positions by means of the usual platen-shifting mechanism. The carriage is mounted to travel horizontally on front and rear guiderails, -and is driven in letter-feed direction by the usual spring-drum connected through a band to the carriage.

The letter-feed movements of the carriage are controlled by the usual mechanism comprising a rack 25 on the carriage rnnni ng in mesh with an escap'ement-pimon 26 which drives an escapement-wheel 27 controlled by escapement-dogs (not shown). The' escapement-dogs are actuated by a universal bar, which, atveach type-stroke, is moved rearwardly, permitting a letter-space movement of the carriage at each type-stroke.

The mechanism for vibrating the ribbon 28 over the print-ing point at each type-stroke comprise a ribbon-vibrator through which the ribbon is guided, said mechanism being operated in the usual manner. The parts above described may be those usual to the commercial Underwoodtypewritingmachine.

vMeans for supplying a number of strips or webs to the platen may comprise a papersupply roll 29 removabl mounted on a truck 30 arranged to travel with the carriage. As shown, the truck comprises a frame having triangular end members or plates 31 connected by tie-rods 32 extending between the corners of the end plates.

The truck is arranged'for longitudinal travel over a track 33, which may be hung at the rear of the machine frame 34. The' track comprises an an le plate 35 fastened to hooks 36 by means o rivets 37. Upon the horizontal lside of the angle plate there is provided a plate or platform 38 fast thereto by means of 'rivets 39 to present a smooth surface or track for wheels 40 which carry lthe truck. Said wheels 40 are rotatably mount- 1 ed upon a reinforcing U-shaped piece 41 and As shown in Figure 1, the truck 30 is sup-- ported in part by a shaft 45V which passes through vertical slots 45 in the plates 31 and is connected to a cross-bar 46 at the rear of the carriage 24 by meansof supporting pieces 47. The pieces47 are .provided at one end with open slots 48 engaging the shaft to which they are secured by means of screws 49. At the otherv end the pieces 47 :are 'fast to the shaft 45, which is provided with spacing tubes 50 for positioning the truck relatively to the carriage. The loose connection 45-45 between the end plates 31 and the pieces 47 permits case-shifting (if-'the platen-shift-frame relatively to the truc r. l

Thepaper-supply roll 29 is mounted between the two plates 31 upon a shaft 51. Said shaft is provided with reduced portions 52 at the ends thereof engaging with keyslots 53 in the plates. It will be noted that the weight of the roll 29 and of the plates 31 falls outside of the supporting track and at the rear thereof. Due toits being rockably mounted upon the shaft .45 above the track, and due to the center of gravity fallaway from the machine if forany reason it is desired to get at the rear of the machine.

There is provided a ribbon-frame detachabl mounted upon the platen-frame.' Said ribEQn-frame comprises side plates 54 tied together by means of cross-bars, and, in order to facilitate the attaching ofthe ribbon-frame to the cari-ia e, the side plates 54 are designed to tit snugly etween the end plates or frames 55 of the platen-frame and are held therebetween by their friction. To further secure the ribbon-frame, there are provided angular 'pieces or feet 56 which are fast to the side plates 54 and extend outwardly and downwardly at 56 to fit snuglyand straddle the end plates 55, as shown in Figure 3. The side plates 54 are tied together by means of a front strip 57 and a cross-bar 5 8, the

such as described in said Patent No. 1,317,209..

The clutch comprises a key 67 .fitting into a keyway cut in the shaft, in which the key is slidably mountedsaid key being operated by a linger-piece 68 at the end of the shaft. By means of said finger-piece the key 67 is caused to engage with either one of the spools, consequently driving one of the spools with the shaft when the same is rotated, either by a handle 69 at the end thereof or by means of the line-space mechanism.

Referring more particularly to Figure 1, in

which the line-spacing mechanism is shown' operatively connected to the shaft 66, it will be noted that there is provided a slide 70 mounted upon guide-pieces 71 forming an integral part of the side plates. Uponlthe slide 7 0 there is mounted a pawl 72 fulcrumed upon a stud 73, and the pawl is held in cngagement with a ratchet 74 by a spring 75 Iast to the slide at 76. The slide is returned to its normal position by means of a spring 7 7 actuating. between a spring-stud 78 on the slide and|one of the guide-pieces 71. The ratchet 74 is rotatably mounted upon a stud 79 fast to one of theside plates, and is operatively connected to the shaft 66 by means of two spur-gears 80 and 81, the latter being fast to the shaft. To prevent the return of the ratchet after each feeding stroke, there is provided a retaining pawl 82 which is fulcrumed on a stud 83 fast to the plate 54. Said pawl 82 is held in engagement with the ratchet by means of a spring 84 fast to the plate at 85.

To facilitate the assembly of the ribbonunit upon the carriage, and at the same time provide a positive connection between the ribf bon-spools and the line-spacing mechanism of the machine, the lever 20 is built up and is provided at the top with a finger 86 engaging with a'bent tab 87 at the end of the slide 70. In this manner, although it will be necessary to rebuild the lever 20, as shown, the added finger 86 will not interfere with the normal operation of the machine when the ribbonunit is removed and the machine is used for regular work, s uch as letter-typing and the like. It will be noted that the ribbon-carrying frame is notfastened by screws, or the like, to the platen-frame, and may be re'- moved from vthe latter by simply lifting the ribbon-carrying frame. It will also be noted that the tab 87 simply abuts against the finger 86 (see FigureV 4) and may be disengaged therefrom by lifting the ribbon-carrying frame from the platen-frame.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope ofthe invention, and portions of the improvements maybe used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 'f

1. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, a platen-frame, a paperfinger cross-rod, and two ribbon spools, of a detachable spool-supporting frame including integral portions arranged with slots for guiding at the printing line stretches of inkribbon fed from a spool at the left end of the platen to the right end of the platen and back again about a spool side by side with the first-mentioned spool, downwardly-projecting portions arranged with slots for engaging about said cross-rod to hold said spool-supporting frame against rearward displacement on said platen-frame, and L- shaped portion resting on the ends of said platen-frame and extending downwardly and closely engaging the outer edges of said ends for supporting the weight of said spoolsupporting frame and preventing endwise movement thereof.

2. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a revoluble platen, a platen-frame and a line-space mechanism, cfa ribbon-supporting frame having a shaft upon which two ribbon-spools are rotatably mounted side by side, means whereby the two spools may be alternatively connected to said shaft, and means for operativelyconnecting said shaft to the line-space mechanism, said last-mentioned means including a sliding member slidably mounted on the ribbon-supporting frame, and a pawl carried by said member` and engaging with a ratchet-wheel operatively connected to the shaft upon which the ribbon-spools are mounted.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a revoluble platen, a platen-frame and a linespace mechanism, of a ribbon-supporting frame having a shaft upon which two ribbonspools are rotatably mounted side by side, means whereby the two spools may be alternatively connected to said shaft, and means for operatively connecting said shaft to the line-space mechanism, said last-mentioned means including a sliding member slida-bly mounted on the ribbon-supporting frame, and a pawl carried by said member and engaging with a ratchet-wheel operatively connected tothe shaft upon which the ribbon-spools are mounted, said ratchetwheel being provided with a retaining pawl to permit the rotation of the ratchet in one direction only. p

4. In a typewriting'machine, the combination with a revoluble platen, a platen-frame and a line-space mechanism, of a ribbon-supporting frame having a shaft upon which two ribbon-spools are rotatably mounted sidev shaft, engaging with the first-mentioned gear, to reverse the rotation of the shaft relatively to the sliding member.

5. In a' typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, a platen-frame, a paperfinger cross-rod on said platen-frame and a line-space lever, of a ribbon-supporting frame resting upon said platen-frame, a shaft journaled in said ribbon-supporting frame, means for alternately connecting either of-two ribbon-spools to said shaft, and means including a ratchet-wheel and a pawl-bearing slide mounted on said ribbon-supporting frame in the rear of said line-space lever for operatively connecting the latter with said shaft, said ribbon-supporting frame being arranged with slots for engagmg said cross-rod for preventing backward displacement of said ribbon-supporting frame upon operation of said line-space lever.

6. The combination with a typewriting machine including a revoluble platen and a line-spacing mechanism therefor, of a ribbonframe including a shaft and two spools mounted side by side upon said shaft adjacent one end thereof, flaps integral with the body of said ribbon-frame for guiding and conducting the ribbon in a zigzag at the printing line, means for positively connecting one of the spools to the shaft whereu on when the shaft is rotated the ribbon will e wound upon the spool, and means, including an auxiliary pawl-bearing slide, for operatively connectingl said shaft to the line-spacing mechanism.

7. In a typewriting machine having a revoluble platen, the combination with a platen-frame, a paper-finger cross-rod on said platen-frame and a line-space lever, of a ribbon-supporting frame resting upon the ends of said platen-frame, a shaft on said ribbon-supporting frame, two ribbon-spools on said shaft, portions of said frame being directed down in front of said platen and arranged for guiding and conducting a plurality of stretches of ribbon at `the printing line of said platen, and-means for rotating said shaft, including an auxiliary rearwardly movable slide, means` for alternately eonnect-' ing either of said spools to said shaft, and downwardly-extending portions carried by said ribbon-supporting frame, said lastnamed portions having slots for engaging said cross-rod to prevent displacement of said ribbon-supporting frame rearwardly by the rearward movement of' said slide.

8. The combination with a typewriting machine having a case-shifting platen-carrying frame, and a paper-table whose rear end is disposed behind said platen, of a tra-ck in the rear of said4 machine, a truck mounted in the rear of said platen and movable laterally therewith on said track, saidtruck including oppositely disposed end members, a supply roll mounted on saidltruck between said end members whereby a work-piece may be conducted from said supply roll over the top edge of said paper-table and down around said platen, said end members having vertical slots, supports carried by the case-shifting frame, and a rod carried by said supports and extending through said slots whereby to permit case-shifting of the platen independently of said truck.

9. The combination with a typewriting machine having a main frame, a case-shifting platen-carrying frame, and a paper-table on the case-shifting frame having its rear end disposed in the rear of said platen, of a track clipped on said main frame at the rear thereof and parallel with said platen, said track including a horizontal platform and a vertical guide, a truck in the rear of said machine, rollers carried byithe truck for running on the platform and the guide, a supply roll mounted in said truck, a pair of supf ports carried by the case-shifting frame at the rear of the paper-table, and a rod extending between said supports and parallel to the track, said truck including side members in which the supply roll is carried, said members having vertical slots through which said rod passes in sliding relation to permit caseshifting, the rollers associated with said vertical guide being held thereagainst by reason of the weight of the supply roll.

l0. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a main frame, a case-shifting platen-carrying frame, and a paper-table mounted on the case-shifting frame and having its rear end disposed in the rear of said platen, ofan L-shaped track detachably fastened on said main frame so as to have a vertical guide-portion disposed adjacent said main frame, a horizontal platform carried by the L-shaped track, a truck laterally movable on said platform, rollers carried by the truck and arranged for running on said platforni to support the truck, other rollers for running on the guide-portion, a supply roll carried` by said truck, and a loose connection to allow relative vertical movement between the upper portion of the truck and the case-shifting frame, whereby to permit case-shifting of the platen while said truck remains in supported and guided position on the track.

M. EUGENE MELTON. 

